Sir.-I read UKIP's recent policy announcements for working women with incredulity and deep alarm.

It is difficult to comprehend that a political party representing Basingstoke in the European Parliament in Brussels can announce that women should get back to the kitchen and that "no small businessman with a brain would ever employ a lady of child-bearing age".

We can be proud that Basingstoke and Deane Borough is home to 69,000 jobs, making it one of the most important employment areas in the South East of England.

In our town, 60 per cent of women work, significantly more than the national average, and are therefore are an important part of the economic success of this area.

I have visited a great many employers in Basingstoke. Many are finding it difficult to recruit staff with the right qualifications and training and are looking for ways to actively retain more women in the workplace.

I sincerely hope that UKIP has the decency to withdraw these statements and rethink its future employment policies.

-Maria Miller, Conservative Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Basingstoke.